Evening Star Newspaper, March 22, 1931, Page 48

AMUSEMENTS. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ©C, AMUSEMENTS. Flashes From the Screen News and Comment of the Photoplay By C. E. Neleon. T is a seri-| < \HIS matter of gathering suit- | this business of comedy able m-tefla. for ghoto- ous one. If you are not willl plays is a serious one for to work hard at it, do not try ad the producers. The Metro- a“.f\" d th was & day, not so ldwyn-Mayer tion an- T ere %ufl; this week that it is tu.r:- many years ago, when a film ing back to published phnr‘m_ hold to the idea ed scripts MAROH 22, 1931—PART. FOUR. Making Talkies of Silents | Washington’s Players What Various Dramatic Organizations Are Doing and Propose to Do. ‘Tuesda A SPRING fantasy, “The Poet’s Gar- > and di- costumed Lenore Marie de Grange, with by Ada Louise Townsend comedian and his producer ar- for plots ed that all & funny man had sfluflcm Lombaniee do was to throw & few 8088y that new and unpul custard i best for general CONSUIDZ| 1t is said that Marlene Diet: v“»“‘éam“'&i 1’:':?:;““”-5'1"::::': rich’s new pioture, "Dum‘; afazture, all of them from well g‘:d..hfie;' d'M':t”matu“uz.r’ul‘ 50 known plays and stories: Among | he SAnCOlg B8 O 0 St these might be mentioned “The ;'Mam i & domactisons Red-Headed Woman,"” 4 siory by | §f this star and Greta Hatherie Brusn, and “Bridge| GGr0™ fie’ tatters new pie- Remna Bg‘%l;'e I‘:{va Deen con-| fure, “Inspiration,” was tracted for within the past few drl‘;!. (l)kf-lhel‘ mmx b_;l‘x:nrtumeg ate “ into talkies e Out,” “The -Mad production, Miss Keene is_directing the vocal numbers and the chorus of 60 students, Miss m-w-mumm;m Central High Spring Play. ust :?uwt the paoruf‘ vehicle she Mary Astor's Debut A BEAUTIFUL sent to leading film ‘The ng,” “Ship- mates” “Never the Twain Shall Meet,” “Sea Bagles” “The w Man,” “Five and Ten,” “A Soul,” “Dancing Partner,” “Flying Hi% " “Girls _'rocemer" and “Man in Possession.” In & way, the use of published stories gives a certaln amount of advance publicity to a picture. On the other hand, there is a familiarity with the story and plot which may keep prospective patrons from vlewln} it on the screen. Many of the large studios have employed expensive corps of writers, the lprodncen seeking new and original plots for the output, However, this plan has not wor out satisfactorily, many of the writers nmgly rehashing stories that they have already written and that have been published. bay Original stories, for the most part, have had to do with gang war- fare—and each gang picture i8 very much like the one which went before. There is a real need for the es- ~tablishment of & separate and dis- tinct group of writers—men and women who See only the motion picture in their scribbling, who write for the talkies, and only for the talkies. This work would eén- tail a sp{ocila! kzllgwled 2 of “t‘};: motion picture; it would req: study otgechnlque and the lmfir- tance of writing for certain play- ers, It goes without saying that the average writer, who has never paid serious attention to the art of the photoplay, should not be ex« ected to journey to Hollywood, sit = himself down at a d out fine and original stories for his employers. It is natural that the first thing He does is to revamp some It has been work” is_not movies. Re, of th wer of the star, the m a good one, whether old or B wioplay will fotget dhelr old Ab otoplay orge! - fion J:lyn when they become vinced of the im| the or, city editor with his or “ gowvrl of the cii m novel A , somewhat Y bad taste. “The Front Page” which is coming out in_movie form soon, contains all these defects, but it has the undoubted quality of humor. This, in a way, makes up for the serious an profane portions of the drama. George Bancroft’s starring ve- hicle, “Scandal Sheet,” s every- thing that the name implies— and more, too. * * % % ‘I: serious business of being forms an mumfin: little bit from the pen of Edwar Everett Horton, who says: “Un- less you are naturally of rather a serious, int: tive tem) - me#it, do not h: ambition to Be a comedian in the movi ‘The gay fellow is always more l“ to be on the receiving end of a joke than the broad . One cannot make le laugh until he Jearns what will arouse their mirth. Of cour: it is ble to Bit on the right formula occa- y of fun requires deep ‘lfll of . Even the v joon soon senses this sad fact. border lines of comedy are n%l‘ely defined, but yet disas- trolls to cross. Without the exact shatling, which one person learns to give and another does not, a situation or a joke can easily fall flat. Or it may become too in- yolved for the average sense of humor. Comedy must be subtle, and yet not over the head of any one, If a joke is funny enough, the most righteous are willing to find amusement. But if it broad- ens into the reul{ vulgar, even the. most tolerant are, Hfit‘g endugh, offended. Good enters into the manufacture of fun quite as much as any other d% t_of life. Believe me, : ICING. with Jack Hoit, A ed Cortez and others, taken s his fietions. . o mw‘og.;e;h.tfls %fi‘gfi“c:t S-ve‘nty-uven ple. tures were examined d the star is director, while the Garbo 18 a ;.gzr_,fln actress even in de. * ¥ %k =% PRODUCTION actlvities around blisher of & ::nzlnm. introduced the Radio Plctures studio in|prize Hollywood have gone into high speed, and a thousand extra work- ers have been employed within the past few days. All this tends toward improvement in the whole field, and the manufacturers are busy in all localities. Among the new pictures being fllmed b Radio are “White Mary Astor, mdo tory by Rex Beach; “Too a_story by ch; * Cooks,” with Bert Wheeler and y Lee; “Tr: nllnsn nds,” with Ivelmy rent “Madame Julle” with Dami and “Big Brother,” Dix. * x % Basil Dean s producing a series of siz pictures in England for Radio company, and a com= pany of camera men, cutters n;:d %cchnlcmmflo{;auo beetn shi; m ywood to unm' in J'r‘a work. The first of the series will be “Likes o’ Her,” and. others already selected as “A Perfect Alibt® and “Escape.” * % x = % |2 g Shoulders,” Bety Short Flashes. Juwu EDMOND MOORE, English | married, ac in Noel esk and turn |long-term a new record, d during the same period. Metro-Gold the release om ' reak,” P :" ng in “The - Elissa Landi, who appear fore Washington audiences a short time ago, is to have the featured role in “Red Handed.” John Gar- rick has been assigned a part in Motna Loy has been added to n A the cast o[f"acbound." that Photoplay, It is re one of oneer movie fan ““""m.'.'m ] soon blossom out asa e for young women. There was a short comedy with chimpanzie players at the Fox last week which just about snat¢hed the interest of the patrons from the feature picture. When a “ghort” 18 good, it is very, very g0od, but when it is bad, it is ter- rible. Latest 1 deny the state- ment that Mayor Walker of New ;:;k will accept a position with Ch.-n%n at the local Fox palace: T 'as managing direclor: Eager as 3 Waite - will attend to adve: and publicity; Bob Hamilton takes thmuee of Bob West as organist. ed to explain the difference -Mayer announce | Like t’s & Wise Child,” pieture, instead o Fontanne parents, and | favorites of the mm@:{t “Women | megex in the cast. — Bob Hamilton, n!w"l'yruppomled organ- ist at the Fox Thea! Preston Sturges. BING & native of Chicago, it is re- between drama and melodrama, a | be theatrical writer the heroine just over. him over a precipice Regardless of the fact that his ictures_have not been so georfi Bancroft has signed long-term contract mount, F. W. Murnau, director who was killed recently in an automo- g’fln accident in cr hdi ashing a year or B0 AN mfiemm newspaper men at luncheon. At that time he was filming a story of circus life, the exteriors being made in Virginia. He first became known to Movie- dom as a director of several Emil g (mm-u, and he recently bu,” a story of the Beas. > om.o( The Star's “In drama, West Forty-ninth street, bar room, not infested with thi Leay lived abroad for seven EIEESE E | b Heddt I i j E-.E & B / ! Starting Matinee Today The Goddess of Beauty ANN CORIO QAYETY - BURLESK L o 1017, Mr. Biurges . Mr. Sturge ‘The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer com) & “rest period” between scenes. A having the play scribers, the production Lynn Peatanne matter how the line at the box office in New York, its ises must be fulfilled. and Mr. Lunt are Sorsy Setn and them at the ol . ‘The Treviewers have agreed on their mmlmmu:‘humni Philip Moeller, Who usually directs Lunts, staged the production. The settings and costumes are by Lee Simonson, the Theater Guild's principal designer. The play has been done on & revolving stage in a turmoil of color characteristic of the Elizabethan BELASCO—*"Street Scene.” “S’lml‘ SCENE” is at last to Wash- ington. It arrives at the Shu- bert-Belasco Theater this evening with such a long, enviable record u‘an' at its heels that it had become a hasard- ous occupation ventifing to guess whether or not New York theatergoers would release it long enough to allow the produetion to take to the road. Since January 10, 1920, more than two years ago, “Street Scene” has cast its potent speil upon the great theatri- cal metropolis, and even staid old Lon- don town, which is ulmnme to great ent over . can, has since last September been the ardent admirer of Elmer Rice’s Pulitzer prize play. s ey, et 15 be understood. bt not & y, lef undersf & drama that smacks hard and insist- ently at the truth. So clearly and con- sistently does it unfold the tale it has to tell that there is @ sense of eaves- dropping, of peering into other people’s lives, rather than the impression of :&whmzb‘ut?m ‘nxx:;d actresses playing ore a bit of canvas. oy is the exterior of & tensely interesting and ably i.nbel’preu%, just a vast assortment of people, néhe rich, some gruesomely poor, all strug- gling to eke out a meager existence, laughing, quarreling, but He n , | went to New York and o his first thea- job, be. mtflofl th Para- , Lucia Laska, James not | Fallon, M. B. Samuylow and 40 others. METROPOLITAN OPERA COMPANY WA AR FOX THEATER XMIM: M he anouhl: M:.l:wn Oall It Love” durtng ganisation in “Quality 8 " which will be 'nted “m“; Park ter. Two of the favorites years ve returned lor this play, Leslie Kent, who uflv‘ofim New York last week, and Sara Y A who will be seen as the irresistil Phoebe Throssel. Grown-ups of today will recall youth- ful thrills of twenty-odd years ago when will be two perf the ” 18 sald | poon mW oag i X. silk, ;nnl DuPrane, Eloite font Dotvua Maye, John P-ul‘im uriel Curtis m’d Schaeffer. JANET RICHARDS, Tomorrow. M!Bl JANET RICHARDS announces that the teenth and last talk in her regular lecture course for the be morning &t Masonic le, Thi .ml l:'m New Yotmm. at 10:45 o'clock. litical portents of the n standpoint of the principal po- itical parties. BURTON HOLMES, Thursday. URTON HOLMES, Thursday after- shrewd understanding of human nature tion as one detectives of o | Club of “Beau Geste's" Sequel Tesponse t6 the demand of & mil- originated before C. P, Wren, the author of “Beau Ciste,” had written & sequel of even had any intention of writing one, and so four years elapsed | R before Brenon was in a position to provide “Beau Ideal” as the talking film sequel to his “Beau CGeste"—a “Beatt Ideal” equally sensational, Ba- | colorful and sweeping & tale of adven- last great Passion Play and its attend- ant happe ‘The entire lecture-recital will be des voted to the play and to Oberammergau itself, with no extraneous picture mate- rial of unrelated interest, thus insuring to his audience an adequate presentas tion of the colorful village life and of the complete stage production. ‘While the ban on making motion pice tures of the play for commercial ex- lifted, Mr. and most of the principal scenes of the productions. Also of unique importance to a more thorough understanding of the historis cal background of the pla; players will be the unusui retrospective films and slides co lng % );Ill ynrs.o‘r 1?:2,’}900 and 1910. . Hol made rst pilgrimage to Obe: u in 1890 and his latest in the snl?:m of 1930, In thu: four ture and desert drama. Warner Bros,' Barle Theater i now showing this picture. “Beau Qeste” was fiimed in 1926 | N “Beau Ideal” was not filmed until 1930. Brenon had been 1t 18 sald, & SINCLAIR LEWIS Central Community Center Tuesday, March 24, at 8:15 Tickets, $1.25 and $1.50 At T. Arthur Smith’s, A. 4. A., Willord Hotel end Door MATINEES MGMT. LEE sad J. J. SHUBERT Sat, S0¢ o 88.00 P e B WILLIAM A. BRADY Presents ELMER RIOR'S GREAT PULIT A iy i el it &5 e il “QTREET FASCINATING HUMOROUS 600 Nighis b New York—Produced tn Paris, Berlin and Lenden. Theusands Upen Thou Press and Public Alike In America, In England, In Franes In Germany and Elsewhere * Have Voiced In Unmistakable Terms Street Scene a Truly Great Play— Scarce a Nationality That Has Not Been Enthralied and Thrilled by lts Remarkable Power! Seen Repeatedly, Yet Ever-New—Should Not Be Missed ., ¢ ANN'S LITTLE AFPAIR," & three- act modern comedy by Harry Osborne, will be the Spring play which Ohi . Presentations ':‘en also on Thursday and Friday two king parts, the “Volces ot the *M‘;E- and Omega, will be by Caroline McKinley and Maurice. Jarvis, Maud Howell Smith 84 the Angel of the Grail and . H. A, Kester as Joseph of Arimathea in both the Bible story and the legend. Judy Shelton, formerly of this eity but now of N]ew York, will be seen in a) by the Holy | Bogu Miss Shelton, a former student | Peter ‘Smith stu — Grall, S CURLEY CLUB—“On the Third Day.” Ofllorthaflnmnnpmhum ever put on in local amateur the- ater circles is promised by the Curley Wi at the Immaculate i : 8:1 effects T i sgegegég 8 ! § | i i b i PR i 4 ; ; H : § g & ] i ] 8 § g5 i} i [ i g § 4 H 5 7 g ss% £ I ; fiF { Mabel ‘Vx:m.u g:.‘u Vigdis, Bryant as , Laurence Lord Ingiald and Edward ‘Thorolf. Catherihe = e F e Fad gE g E ; g & INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN VIOLINIST Barker Hall, 17th and K Sts. N.W, FRIDAY, MARCH 27 2:90 P.M. Tiekets, Boe—at T. parean, 130" B Homer Lo KI Go. ADER/| N5 HORN ATIONA LAST TIMES . MAT.—76¢, Eu. -.i‘::'é - MAT. TODAY AT 3:00 P M. 50c, 75¢, $1.00, LAST TIMES MONDAY NIGHT SAT. MAT. 756, ana ss.50)| AND WEEK TME TMEATRE GUILD, ne. Presents she Season’s Triumph (Pifth Production of the Second Washinston Subseription Beasen) N d Costumes by Lee Simonson With LYNN FONTANNE as Queen Elizabeth ALFRED LUNT s #be Earl of Essex MORRE CARNOVSKY PERCY WARAM' Arthue Hughes, Whitiord Kane, Bdward Fielding, and Many Oshers WEEK | BEG. NEXT SUNDAY NIGNT ONLY | Retarn Engagement by Popular Demend POPULAR PRICES .35 NIGHTS, 50¢ to $2 Wi MATS,, 50¢ to S1 SAT. WMIMnkllimthh BROCK PRESTON STURGES SGED B, €_PERRY, AND. MR. REMBERION - — — — — — — — — — - ON Baster Mondey Night, April 6, THE NATIONAL TMEATRE PLAYERS will inougwrade sheir seventh ownuol sessom, with Racheel Crothers cherming comady, "LET US BE GAY,” s the first attraction. Subscriptions, at & reduced rabe, for ¥boe first dem weeks will be uceepred wnthl Saturday, March 28, Apj blanks ‘mey be secured at the Box Office or will be mailed upon request. Phome National 0501-0502-0503.